History
This is a large cairn of stones at the top of Ballyheady Mountain which is about 3 miles to the west of Ballyconnell.
The following is a local legend about the cairn.
Once in Meath a chieftain committed some crime and drew the wrath of the people upon him. A crowd of women gathered to kill him. They filled their aprons with stones to stone him to death and they started for the place of his abode. But he heard of their coming and fled northwards. They pursued him, still taking stones with them in their Aprons. With his pursuers close at his heels the criminal was fording the River near Ballyconnell; now known as the Woodford River, however he drowned. The women foiled of their prey, went to the nearby mountain and emptied out the stones from their aprons at the top.
Such was the origin of the cairn.
How to get here
From Ballyconnell, I recommend cycling/walking on the woodford canal greenway (5km) towards Ballyheady and at the exit take a right then a sharp left turn following the brown sign for Ballyheady Cairn. It does get a bit steep up the hill but should be no problem for those eager to log this cache! Keep following the road till you see another brown sign for Ballyheady Cairn pointing to the trail in the woods (About 1.1km from greenway exit).
By car, from Ballyconnell's Supervalu, go over the bridge and take the first left (after Woodford Arms) following the signs for Ballinamore. After about 3km, you will come across a peach coloured house on the right, take a left here following the signs for Ballyheady, followed by a right at the fork in the road. Keep following the road till you see another brown sign for Ballyheady Cairn pointing to the trail in the woods (About 1.1km from bridge). You can pull in here briefly to walk the rest of the way in.
Navigating the forest
Once you've entered the forest, continue straight for roughly 660 metres or until you've reached the last junction roughly 100 metres from the visible end on the trail. Here you take a left and continue following the path till you see the large Cairn of stones on the left hand side.
Locating the Cache
Once you've followed the path up to the Cairn (less than 10 metres away from you), stop right where it takes a short left and instead turn right 90 degrees and walk through the forest.